Outage: Man who beat dog to death with sledgehammer sentenced to 90 days in jail

A man who claimed he was trying to put his elderly dog “out of its misery” by beating it over the head with a sledgehammer was sentenced on Thursday to 90 days in jail and another 5 years of probation.

According to the Minneapolis StarTribune, 71-year-old Rudolph Poppe told mortified onlookers last July 12th that his golden retriever, Millie, was 13 years old and that it was time for her to go. All the while he bludgeoned her with a sledgehammer in his driveway in plain view of passersby.

Police were called to Poppe’s home, where they discovered the animal lying in the driveway with a plastic bag over its head. The dog’s skull had been crushed and it was bleeding badly but was still alive and even tried to stand up two times. A rescue group arrived on the scene and took the dog to the vet, where it was euthanized that same night.

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